Alec Benjamin at The Mission Ballroom

Alec Benjamin was the first show outside of New York City I ever shot, and I was lucky to do it at the gorgeous new Mission Ballroom in Denver, Colorado.

The (sizeable) line outside paled in comparison to the snake of audience members queueing up for the merge table inside, stretching past the unique GA raked seating in the back-half of the auditorium all the way to the stage.

Claire Rosinkranz opened with an energetic set, playing on stage with her father Ragnar Rósinkranz. In a long string of her hits, Claire twirled tirelessly around before sitting on the risers for a few intimate songs to the audience which had filled-up well before she took the stage.

The mostly-young audience was ready to scream when Alec and his band came out an hour later.

Halfway through the set, Alec followed-up on his “foot reveal” on instagram from earlier in the week, laying down on stage to take off his socks and let the dogs loose. (I got several strange glances from parents in the balcony as a snapped away at them with my telephoto lens…) Later on he brought up two audience members celebrating birthdays for selfies and to serenade them with (the first of two!) performances of “Water Fountain” of the night.

Thanks to Nathan Chwat at Activist Artists Management for the chance to shoot the show!